THE NEW YORK TIMESSCIENCETUESDAY,
MARCH 9, 1999

Letting Out Aggression Is Called Bad Advice

By
ERICA GOODE

"You know what I
do when I'm angry? I hit a pillow. Try that," suggests the psychiatrist,
played by Billy Crystal, to his New York gangster client (Robert De Niro) in
the Warner Brothers movie "Analyze This." But it is bad advice,
according to new research by social psychologists.
Though pop psychology books and articles perpetuate the
notion that "getting your anger out" is cathartic and can help
dissipate hostility, the researchers have found just the opposite: Venting
anger on inanimate objects -- punching a pillow or hitting a punching bag, for
example -- increases rather than decreases aggressive behavior.
Even more disturbing, the researchers found, books and
articles that recommend "catharsis" as a good method of dealing with
anger actually may foster aggression by giving people permission to relax their
self-control.
In the studies, which appear in the March issue of The
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, angry subjects who hit a punching bag were later more aggressive in
blasting their rivals in a competitive task with loud, unpleasant noises than
subjects who did not hit a punching bag.
But aggression also increased when the subjects, who were
all undergraduates enrolled in introductory psychology courses, first read a
bogus article describing research purportedly showing that hitting an inanimate
object was "an effective way of venting anger."
In one study, participants who read the article were more
eager to hit the punching bag than subjects who read a different article
debunking the benefits of catharsis. In a subsequent study, participants who
read the pro-catharsis article and then hit the punching bag were more
aggressive toward partners in the competitive task.
Dr. Brad J. Bushman, an associate professor of psychology
at Iowa State University and the lead author of the studies, said he suspected
that the subjects, led to believe catharsis worked, kept trying to relieve
anger, even after it became clear that the punching bag was not doing the job.
"They keep trying to get this emotional release, but it never
happens," he said.
To make the subjects angry, the researchers asked them to
write one-paragraph essays on abortion, and informed them that the essays would
be critiqued by other study participants.
Half the subjects received negative critiques, consisting
of low ratings on organization, originality, style, clarity, persuasiveness and
overall quality, along with a handwritten comment saying, "This is one of
the worst essays I have read!" The others received positive critiques,
including the comment, "No suggestions, great essay!"
The idea that catharsis is the best way to handle anger
gained wide currency as part of Sigmund Freud's hydraulic model of sexual and
aggressive drives. The theory holds that when angry feelings are repressed,
pressure builds up. If the pressure is not released, the logic goes, psychological
or physical problems can result. Many self-help books advocate a cathartic
approach to anger management. One, the researchers wrote, "recommended
that angry people twist a towel, punch a pillow, wallop a punching bag, hit a
couch with a plastic baseball bat, throw rocks or break glass to reduce pent-up
anger."
Over the past three decades, however, psychologists have
tested the catharsis theory and found virtually no evidence for it.
"Catharsis has enjoyed a run of support in the popular media that far
outstrips its support in the research literature," Dr. Bushman and his
colleagues wrote.